Method for fabricating a liquid crystal cell

ABSTRACT

A method for fabricating a liquid crystal cell and related device includes providing an alignment layer of a light sensitive material on a substrate; and exposing the alighment layer to unpolarized or partially polarized light, to provide pretilt for the molecules of the alighment layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a liquidcrystal cell, and more particularly to a method for fabricating a liquidcrystal cell in which the liquid crystal molecules are aligned byirradiating light.

Generally, a liquid crystal cell comprises two substrates and liquidcrystal materials injected between these substrates, the liquid crystalmaterials comprising anisotropic molecules. It is necessary to orderlyalign liquid crystal molecules in the cell in order to obtain a uniformbrightness and high contrast ratio in the liquid crystal cell.Therefore, some treatment on the substrate is carried out to provideorderly alignment of liquid crystal molecules. In FIG. 1, the directorof liquid crystal molecule n is determined by a pretilt angle θ whichcorresponds to a polar angle of the director n and a pretilt angledirection φ which corresponds its azimuthal angle. The Cartesiancoordinate of the director n of liquid crystal molecule is defined:

n=(cosθcosφ, cosθsinφ, sinθ).

The director n of liquid crystal is determined by controlling thepretilt angle θ and the pretilt angle direction φ by carrying outalignment process on the substrate. In this specification, the directorn is substituted with a pretilt defining a pretilt angle and pretiltangle direction.

A conventional alignment process is the rubbing method demonstrated inFIG. 2. The rubbing process comprises following steps: coating asubstrate 11 with an alignment layer 12 such as polyamide; andmechanically rubbing the alignment layer(FIG. 2a). Thereby, microgrooveswith pretilt θ_(p) are formed on rubbed surface of the alignment layer(FIG. 2b). The liquid crystal molecules are thus uniformly aligned dueto the intermolecular interaction between the polyimide molecules andthe liquid crystal molecules.

In the above described rubbing process, however, defects are formed inthe microgrooves which cause light scattering and random phasedistortion. Also during the rubbing process, dust particles andelectrostatic discharges are generated on the alignment layer, so thatthe substrate is damaged and yield is decreased.

To solve the aforementioned problems, the photoalignment method has beenrecently introduced. The conventional photo-alignment method isillustrated in FIG. 3. In this method, double exposure of linearlypolarized light is necessary to determine a pretilt. FIG. 3a shows thefirst irradiation process in which linearly polarized ultraviolet lightis vertically irradiated into an alignment layer 12. When polymers areirradiated with the light having the polarized direction ⊙ parallel withside chains of the polymers, cross-linking is generated between the sidechains belonging different polymers. The reacted polymer becomessymmetric due to the side chains as well as the main chains of thepolymer; the main chains are arranged in a perpendicular direction tothe polarized direction ⊙ of light. Thereby, two pretilt directions θ₁,θ₂ are determined in the perpendicular direction to the polarizeddirection ⊙ of the light as shown FIG. 3a. However, the formed pretiltangle is small, typically less than 0.11°, and one pretilt direction isto be selected, so a second exposure must be carried out as shown inFIG. 3b.

The second irradiation process is shown in FIG. 3b. The linearlypolarized light having a polarized direction perpendicular to the firstpolarized direction ⊙, is irradiated into the alignment layer 12 in theoblique direction θ relative to the normal line of alignment layer 12.Thereby, one pretilt angle direction θ₁ is selected and the pretiltangle is enlarged according to the oblique angle between the substrate11 and incident direction of the second ultraviolet light. For example,when the oblique angle is 45°, the pretilt angle is set 0.26°.

The photo-alignment method has several advantages over rubbing. Forexample, it can prevent the defects of rubbing such as a lightscattering and random phase distortion. Also during the alignmentprocess, dust particles and electrostatic discharges are not generatedin the alignment layer, so that the substrate is not damaged.

The conventional photo-alignment method, however, is complicated due todouble-exposure. In addition, the range of controllable pretilt angle bythe second ultraviolet light is very limited, for example, 0.15° whenthe oblique angle is 30°, 0.26° when the oblique angle is 45°, 0.30°when the oblique angle is 60°.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a photo-alignmentmethod in which the process is simple and applicable to various modes ofliquid crystal cells by controlling the pretilt angle in all ranges of0°-90°.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forfabricating a liquid crystal cell which has a wider viewing angle.

In order to achieve these and other objects, a method, as embodied andbroadly defined herein, comprises providing an alighment layer,preferably of a photosensitive material, on a substrate; and exposingthe alignment layer to unpolarized or partially polarized light in anoblique direction with respect to the alighment layer, to providepretilt for the molecules of the alighment layer.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. The accompanyingdrawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a liquid crystal director in Cartesian coordinates.

FIGS. 2a to 2 b illustrate a conventional rubbing alignment process.

FIGS. 3a to 3 c illustrate a conventional photo-alignment.

FIGS. 4a to 4 c show the polarized characteristics of lights.

FIGS. 5a to 5 b show the relationship between pretilt angle andphoto-energy in the siloxane materials.

FIGS. 6a to 6 c show various alignment modes capable of being providedby an alignment process according to the invention.

FIGS. 7a to 7 b illustrate an alignment process according to thisinvention.

FIGS. 8a to 8 b illustrate another alignment process according to thisinvention.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between pretilt angle and photo-energyaccording to the polarization degree.

FIGS. 10a to 10 e show various liquid crystal modes capable of beingprovided by a fabricating process according to the invention.

FIGS. 11a to 11 h illustrate a process of fabricating a multi-domainliquid crystal cell.

FIGS. 12a to 12 h show another process of fabricating a multi-domainliquid crystal cell.

FIGS. 13a to 13 j show yet another process of fabricating a multi-domainliquid crystal cell.

FIGS. 14a to 14 j show yet another process of fabricating a multi-domainliquid crystal cell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Further, the direction of the pretilt of the liquid crystal molecules ineach of the four domains may be substantially perpendicular to that ofat least one adjacent ones of the four domains.

FIG. 4 is a schematic showing the characteristic of light according tothe intensity of each electromagnetic wave in the P and S directions. Inthe figure, the P-direction and S-direction are used to illustrate therelative intensity of each light. The P-direction and S-direction areperpendicular to one another.

Unpolarized light in this specification is defined as a collection ofomnidirected electromagnetic waves oscillating in all directions, sothat it has electromagnetic waves oriented in every direction except theincident direction. FIG. 4a shows unpolarized light transmitting througha transparent plate 7 which passes all incident electromagnetic waves.The unpolarized light has equivalent intensities in the P and Sdirections, or, in other words, the unpolarized light is constituted ofomnioriented electromagnetic waves.

On the other hand, the polarized light is defined as a collection ofunidirected oscillating electromagnetic waves. FIG. 4b demonstratespolarized light transmitting through a polarizer 17 which allows onlyelectromagnetic waves directed parallel to the transmissive axis of thepolarizer 17 to pass. Therefore, the polarized light includes onlyundirected electromagnetic waves.

Finally, partially polarized light is defined in this specification aslight having an elliptically shaped intensity in which a principalintensity is stronger than other intensities. In other words, theintensity of the principal electromagnetic wave P is strongest, and thesubordinate electromagnetic wave S oriented perpendicular to theprincipal electromagnetic wave is weakest. FIG. 4c illustrates partiallypolarized light transmitting through a partially polarizing plate 27which allows the intensity of waves parallel to the principaltransmission axis to pass unimpeded, but partially blocks the intensityof waves oriented in other directions. Therefore, the partiallypolarized light is comprised of a principal intensity P and asubordinate intensity s, smaller than the principal intensity P.

This invention utilizes unpolarized and partially polarized light toalign liquid crystal molecules injected into a liquid crystal cell. Toalign the liquid crystal molecules, an alignment layer or photoreactivelayer should be coated on the substrates constituting the liquidcrystal. According to this invention, the alignment layer includes lightsensitive (photosensitive) material which is readily aligned in thedirection perpendicular to the polarized direction of the incidentlight. In this manner, the pretilt angle directions are determined inthe directions perpendicular to the polarized direction of the incidentlight. In addition, the materials have pretilt forming characteristicscontrollable in the entire range of 0-90 degrees.

The photosensitive material of this invention includes oligomers andpolymers of siloxane cinnamates having the following structuralformulas.

polysiloxane cinnamate I:

polysiloxane cinnamate II:

Z=OH, CH₃, or mixtures thereof,

m=10-100,

l=1-11,

L=0 or 1,

K=0 or 1,

X, X₁, X₂, Y=H, F, Cl, CN, CF₃, C_(n)H_(2n+1) or OC_(n)H_(2n+1) whereinn can be

fro m 1 to 10, or mixtures thereof;

The pretilt angle forming characteristics of these materials is shown inFIG. 5a and FIG. 5b. FIG. 5a shows the pretilt angle formingcharacteristics of siloxane polymers. The material has a pretilt angleof 90 degree without providing any photo-energy. By irradiating withlight, the pretilt angle is slowly decreased, in the range I, down to60°. The pretilt angle is more rapidly decreased down to about 10° byincreasing photo-irradiation energy between range II and range I, andthen is slowly decreased in range II.

FIG. 5b shows the pretilt angle forming characteristics of siloxaneoligomers. The material has a pretilt angle of 90 degrees withoutproviding any photo-energy. By irradiating with light, the pretilt angleis slowly decreased in the range II, down to about 60°, and thencontinues to be decreased to about 50° with increasing photo-irradiationenergy. By using these materials as an alignment layer, the pretiltangle can be easily controlled through a broad range.

Therefore, the various alignment modes are formed as shown in FIG. 6.FIG. 6a shows a homogeneous alignment mode having a pretilt angle lessthan 10°, FIG. 6b shows a homeotropic alignment mode having a pretiltangle greater than 60°. In addition, a tilted alignment mode having apretilt angle between 10° and 60° can be produced as illustrated in 6 c.

The alignment method of present invention can be adapted to all kinds ofliquid crystal cells by controlling the various pretilt angles asdescribed above.

One alignment method of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 7. In thisembodiment, unpolarized light having an omnidirected electromagneticwave is utilized to provide a pretilt by single exposure. This light haselectromagnetic waves oscillating in all directions except the incidentdirection; therefore, cross linking is not generated in the incidentdirection. In FIG. 7a, the unpolarized light is irradiated onto analignment layer 22 formed with siloxane materials with an angle θ fromthe normal line of the alignment layer. Thereby, the pretilt angledirection is selected in the direction of the incident light, andpretilt angle is controlled by the photo-energy of the light. As shownin FIG. 7b, one pretilt θ_(p) is provided on the alignment layer.

To save photo-energy, the preferred mode of liquid crystal cell is ahomeotropic alignment mode. To achieve this mode, the range II ofphoto-energy is applied to alignment layer when the alignment layer isformed with siloxane polymers as shown in FIG. 5a. Similarly, when thesiloxane oligomers is used for alignment layer as shown in FIG. 5b, therange II of photo-energy is applied. In this embodiment, a polarizerpolarizing a light can be excluded in the irradiating device. Also,because the alignment process is completed in a single exposure,rearranging of the irradiating device is not necessary. Therefore, theprocess is simple due to single exposure, and is more energy efficient.

Another alignment method of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 8. Inthis embodiment, partially polarized light having subordinateelectromagnetic wave components as well as a principal electromagneticwave component is utilized to provide a pretilt by single exposure. Inthis method, the subordinate components perpendicular to principalcomponents serve to select a pretilt angle direction. The principalcomponents provide the pretilt angle direction axis. In FIG. 8a,partially polarized light is irradiated onto alignment layer 22 formedwith siloxane materials with an angle θ from normal line of thealignment layer. In this manner, two pretilt angle directions aredetermined in the direction perpendicular to the principal direction. Atthe same time, subordinate components produce one pretilt angledirection in the incident direction θ.

The pretilt angle is also controlled by the photo-energy of the light.As shown in FIG. 8b, one pretilt θ_(p) is provided on the alignmentlayer.

A stable alignment by principal components can be achieved. Therefore,this process can be adapted to the homogeneous mode as well as thehomeotropic mode.

In addition, the pretilt angle sharpness depends upon the degree ofpolarization of partially polarized light as shown in FIG. 9.

By adopting the alignment processes discussed above, various modes ofliquid crystal cells of FIG. 10 may be produced depending theconfiguration between the first pretilt of first alignment layer and thesecond pretilt of a second alignment layer facing the first alignmentlayer.

FIG. 10a illustrates a TN mode liquid crystal cell in which a pretiltangle direction of one alignment layer is perpendicular to a pretiltangle direction of the other alignment layer. FIG. 10b and FIG. 10cillustrate a spray mode and a bend mode liquid crystal cell,respectively. In these modes, a pretilt angle direction of one alignmentlayer is antiparallel with a pretilt angle direction of the otheralignment layer. FIG. 10d illustrates an ECB mode liquid crystal cell inwhich the pretilt angle direction of one alignment layer is parallelwith a pretilt angle direction of the other alignment layer. Finally,FIG. 10e shows a hybrid mode liquid crystal cell having one alignmentlayer aligned in a homeotropic mode and the other alignment layeraligned in a homogeneous mode.

A mono-domain liquid crystal cell has the problem of viewing angledependency. To overcome this and other problems, this invention providesa fabricating method of multi-domain liquid crystal cells shown in FIG.11 through FIG. 14.

FIG. 11 demonstrates one embodiment of this invention which provides amulti-domain ECB mode liquid crystal cell aligned parallel between twosubstrates 21 and has a pretilt angle greater than 60°. FIG. 11a shows amethod for providing a first pretilt on a first domain I on thealignment layer 22. The first unpolarized light is obliquely irradiatedin the angle θ₁ into the substrate 21 coated with alignment layer 22 ofsiloxane polymers while being blocked from the second domain II in FIG.11a and FIG. 11b, the cross-sectional view of the FIG. 11a, so as toprovide a first pretilt on the first domain I. The first pretilt isdefined with a first pretilt angle being larger than 60° relative to thesubstrate and a pretilt angle direction oriented to the incident lightdirection.

FIG. 11c and FIG. 11d show the method for providing a second pretilt ona second domain II on the alignment layer 22. To get the second pretilt,the mask 23 is moved to the first domain I. The second unpolarized lightis obliquely irradiated with the angle θ₂ into the alignment layer 22while being blocked from the first domain I, so as to provide a secondpretilt on the second domain II.

A second substrate 21 is coated with alignment layer 22 and providedwith the first pretilt and the second pretilt on the first domain andthe second domain, respectively, as shown in FIG. 11e. The pretilts aretilted towards each other on the alignment layer 22 as shown in FIG.11f, the cross sectional view of FIG. 11e.

A liquid crystal panel is then obtained by assembling the two substrates21 for an ECB mode liquid crystal cell. Liquid crystal materials 24 areinjected into the liquid crystal panel having two domains, then liquidcrystal molecules 24 are vertically aligned between the two substrates21. At the same time, the molecules in one domain are aligned parallelto the column of the cell cross-section, but in the row, the moleculesof liquid crystal materials are aligned in different directionsaccording to domains as shown in FIG. 11g and FIG. 11h.

In this manner, the viewing angle is increased by aligning the liquidcrystal molecules according to their domains so as to get a widerviewing angle liquid crystal cell. Further, the direction of the secondpretilt may be substantially perpendicular to that of the first pretilt.

In this embodiment, the photo-irradiation energy is selected so that thesaid first pretilt and said second pretilt are set to be larger than60°, or more preferably, 75°-89°. That is, when the siloxane basedmaterials are used as the alignment layer, the range “II” ofphoto-energy is applied to get a pretilt angle greater than 60°, asshown in FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b. Thus the large pretilt angle is easilyprovided for the ECB mode liquid crystal cell by adopting this alignmentprocess.

FIGS. 12a to 12 h show another embodiment of this invention whichprovides a multi-domain TN mode liquid crystal cell which is alignedtwistedly between two substrates and has a pretilt angle less than 10°.FIG. 12a shows the method for providing a first pretilt on a firstdomain I on the alignment layer 22. The first partially polarized lightis obliquely irradiated in the angle θ₁ into alignment layer 22 ofsiloxane polymer while being blocked from the second domain II in FIG.12a and FIG. 12b, so as to provide a first pretilt on the first domainI. The first pretilt is defined with a first pretilt angle being lessthan 10° relative to the substrate 21 and a pretilt angle directionoriented to the incident light direction. FIG. 12c and FIG. 12d show themethod for providing a second pretilt on a second domain II on thealignment layer 22. To get the second pretilt, the mask 23 is moved tothe first domain I. The second unpolarized light is obliquely irradiatedwith the angle θ₂ into the alignment layer 22 while being blocked fromthe first domain I, so as to provide a second pretilt on the seconddomain II.

The second substrate 21 is coated with alignment layer 22 and providedwith the first pretilt and the second pretilt on the first domain andthe second domain respectively as shown in FIG. 12e. The pretilts aretilted in planes parallel to one another on the alignment layer 22 asshown in FIG. 12f, the cross sectional view of FIG. 12e.

Then, a liquid crystal panel can be obtained by assembling the twosubstrates 21 for TN mode liquid crystal cell. Liquid crystal materials24 are injected into the liquid crystal panel having two domains, thenliquid crystal molecules 24 are horizontally aligned between the twosubstrates 21. At the same time, the molecules in one domain aretwistedly aligned in the column of the cell cross-section, but in therow, the molecules of liquid crystal materials are aligned in differentdirection according to domains as shown in FIG. 12q and FIG. 12h.

Thereby, the viewing angle is increased by aligning the liquid crystalmolecules according to their domains so as to get a wider viewing angleliquid crystal cell. Further, the direction of the second pretilt may besubstantially perpendicular to that of the first pretilt.

In this embodiment, the photo-irradiation energy is selected so that thefirst pretilt and the second pretilt are set to be less than 10°. Thatis, when the siloxane based materials are used as the alignment layer,the range “I” of photo-energy is applied to get a pretilt angle greaterthan 10°, as shown in FIG. 5a.

Thus, a stable pretilt alignment axis is easily provided by theprincipal wave of the partially polarized light. In addition, thepretilt angle sensitivity is controlled by the degree of polarization ofthe partially polarized light as shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 illustrates a process for fabricating a four-domain ECB modeliquid crystal cell which produces a wider viewing angle than atwo-domain ECB mode cell. In FIG. 13a and FIG. 13b, the cross-sectionalview of FIG. 13a, the first unpolarized light is obliquely irradiated inthe angle θ₁ into the substrate 21 coated with alignment layer 22 ofsiloxane polymer materials while being blocked from the second, third,and fourth domains II, III, IV, so as to determine the first pretilt onthe first domain I, the pretilt having angle larger than 60°. To get thesecond pretilt having angle larger than 60°, the second unpolarizedlight is obliquely irradiated in the angle θ₂ into the substrate 21while being blocked from the first, third, and fourth domains I, III, IVas shown in FIG. 13c and FIG. 13d. To get the third and fourth pretilthaving pretilt angle larger than 60°, as shown in FIG. 13e, FIG. 13f,FIG. 13g and FIG. 13h, a third unpolarized light and a fourthunpolarized light are obliquely irradiated on a third domain III and afourth domain IV, respectively, while being blocked from other domains.In FIG. 13i, after removing the mask, the first substrate having fourdomains for a liquid crystal panel is obtained.

The above photo-alignment process is carried out on another, secondsubstrate 21 and a liquid crystal panel is obtained by assembling thetwo substrates 21. Liquid crystal materials are injected into the liquidcrystal panel having four domains, then liquid crystal molecules arevertically aligned. At the same time, molecules are aligned parallel tothe column of the cell cross-section, but in the row, the molecules ofliquid crystal materials are aligned in the different directions betweendomains as shown in FIG. 13j.

Thereby, the viewing angle is increased by aligning the liquid crystalmolecules according to their domains so as to get a wider viewing angleliquid crystal cell. Further, the direction of the pretilt of the liquidcrystal molecules in each of the four domains may be substantiallyperpendicular to that of at least one of adjacent ones of the fourdomains.

In this embodiment, the photo-irradiation energy for providing firstpretilt angle, second pretilt angle, third pretilt angle and fourthpretilt angle is selected in the range II of FIG. 5a or FIG. 5b, so thatthe pretilt angle is larger than 60°, and more preferably, larger than75° but less than 89°.

The present invention provides a method of fabricating an ECB modeliquid crystal cell which can be obtained in short time by thephoto-alignment process. Moreover, it can provide a multi-domain ECBmode liquid crystal cell by changing the incident direction of thephoto-irradiation. Thus, an ECB mode cell having a wider viewing angle,a higher contrast ratio and a more stable grey scale is easilyfabricated by the photo-alignment process of this invention. The largepretilt angle for the ECB mode is readily provided by adopting analignment layer of this invention. Therefore, a photo-alignment processis completed in a shorter time so that total tact time is shorter thanconventional method.

FIG. 14a through FIG. 14j show a process for fabricating a four-domainTN mode liquid crystal cell having a wider viewing angle than atwo-domain TN mode cell. In FIG. 14a and FIG. 14b, the cross-sectionalview of FIG. 14a, the first partially polarized light is obliquelyirradiated in the angle θ₁ into the substrate 21 coated with analignment layer 22 of siloxane polymer materials while being blockedfrom the second, third, and fourth domains II, III, IV, so as todetermine the first pretilt on the first domain I, the pretilt having anangle less than 10°. To get the second pretilt having angle less than10°, the second partially polarized light is obliquely irradiated in theangle θ₂ into the substrate 21 while being blocked from the first,third, and fourth domains I, III, IV as shown in FIG. 14c and FIG. 14d.To get the third and fourth pretilts having pretilt angle less than 10°,as shown in FIG. 14e, FIG. 14f, FIG. 14g and FIG. 14h, a third partiallypolarized light and a fourth partially polarized light are obliquelyirradiated a third domain III and a fourth domain IV, respectively,while being blocked from other domains. Therefore, the first substrate21 having four domains for a liquid crystal panel can be produced.

The above photo-alignment process is carried out on another substrate 21to prepare the second substrate as sown in FIG. 14i.

After assembling the two substrates 21, liquid crystal materials areinjected into the liquid crystal panel having four domains, then liquidcrystal molecules are horizontally aligned. At the same time, moleculesare twistedly aligned in the column of the cell cross-section, but inthe row, the molecules of liquid crystal materials are aligned in thedifferent directions between domains as shown in FIG. 14j.

Thereby, the viewing angle is increased by aligning the liquid crystalmolecules according to their domains so as to get a wider viewing angleliquid crystal cell. Further, the direction of the pretilt of the liquidcrystal molecules in each of the four domains may be substantiallyperpendicular to that of at least one of adjacent ones of the fourdomains.

In this embodiment, the photo-irradiation energy for providing the firstpretilt angle, second pretilt angle, third pretilt angle and fourthpretilt angle is set up in the range I of FIG. 5a, so that the pretiltangle is less than 10°.

Thus, a stable pretilt alignment axis is easily provided by principalwave of the partially polarized light. In addition, the pretilt anglesensitivity is controlled by the degree of polarization of partiallypolarized light as shown in FIG. 9.

Therefore, a photo-alignment process is completed in a shorter time sothat total tact time is shorter than conventional methods. In each ofthe above embodiments of the invention, the liquid crystal material mayinclude a positive or negative dielectric anisotrophy.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystaldisplay device, comprising: providing an alignment layer on a substrate;and exposing said alignment layer to light obliquely incident onto asurface of said alignment layer to form a pretilt angle, the exposingstep simultaneously selecting a direction of the pretilt angle and anamount of the pretilt angle.
 2. A method of manufacturing a liquidcrystal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said alignment layerincludes a siloxane based polymer.
 3. A method of manufacturing a liquidcrystal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said alignment layerincludes a siloxane based oligomer.
 4. A method of manufacturing aliquid crystal device in accordance with claim 1, further comprising thestep of providing a liquid crystal material adjacent the alignmentlayer.
 5. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein said exposing step comprises the stepsof: exposing a first portion of the alignment layer to said lightobliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layer; and exposinga second portion of the alignment layer to said light obliquely incidentonto the surface of the alignment layer, said first and second portionsbeing different from one another.
 6. A method of manufacturing a liquidcrystal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said exposing stepcomprises the steps of: exposing a first portion of the alignment layerto said light obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layerwhile preventing a second portion of the alignment layer from beingexposed to said light, said second portion being different than thefirst portion; and exposing said second portion of the alignment layerto said light obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layerwhile preventing said first portion from being exposed to said light. 7.A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said exposing step comprises the steps of exposing afirst portion of the alignment layer to said light obliquely incidentonto the surface of the alignment layer while preventing a second, thirdand fourth portions of the alignment layer from being exposed to saidlight, said first, second, third and fourth portions being differentfrom one another; exposing said second portion of alignment layer tosaid light while preventing the first, third, and fourth portions of thealignment layer from being exposed to said light; exposing said thirdportion of the alignment layer to said light while preventing the first,second and fourth portions of the alignment layer from being exposed tosaid light; and exposing said fourth portion of the alignment layer tosaid light while preventing the first, second and third portions of thealignment layer from being exposed to said light.
 8. A method ofmanufacturing a liquid crystal device in accordance with claim 1,wherein said light includes ultraviolet light.
 9. A method ofmanufacturing a liquid crystal device in accordance with claim 4,wherein the liquid crystal material has a pretilt angle greater than60°.
 10. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device in accordancewith claim 4, wherein the liquid crystal material has a pretilt anglesmaller than 10°.
 11. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal devicein accordance with claim 4, wherein the liquid crystal material includesa negative dielectric anisotropy.
 12. A method of manufacturing a liquidcrystal device in accordance with claim 4, wherein the liquid crystalmaterial includes a positive dielectric anisotropy.
 13. A method ofmanufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: providing analignment layer on a substrate; exposing said alignment layer to lightobliquely incident onto a surface of said alignment layer, the exposingstep comprising: exposing a first portion of the alignment layer to saidlight obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layer; andexposing a second portion of the alignment layer to said light obliquelyincident onto the surface of the alignment layer, said first and secondportions being different from one another; and providing a liquidcrystal material adjacent each of said exposed first and second portionsof the alignment layer, the liquid crystal material adjacent the firstportion of the alignment layer having a first pretilt and the liquidcrystal material adjacent the second portion of the alignment layerhaving a second pretilt different than said first pretilt.
 14. A methodof manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: providingan alignment layer on a substrate; exposing said alignment layer tolight obliquely incident onto a surface of said alignment layer, theexposing step comprising: exposing a first portion of the alignmentlayer to said light obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignmentlayer; and exposing a second portion of the alignment layer to saidlight obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layer, saidfirst and second portions being different from one another; andproviding a liquid crystal material adjacent a respective one of saidexposed first and second portions of the alignment layer, the liquidcrystal material adjacent the first portion of the alignment layerhaving a first pretilt and the liquid crystal material adjacent thesecond portion of the alignment layer having a second pretiltsubstantially perpendicular to said first pretilt.
 15. A method ofmanufacturing a liquid crystal device in accordance with claim 5,further comprising the steps of: exposing a third portion of thealignment layer to said light obliquely incident onto the surface of thealignment layer; and exposing a fourth portion of the alignment layer tosaid light obliquely incident onto the surface of the alignment layer,said first, second, third and fourth portions being different from oneanother.
 16. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device inaccordance with claim 15, further comprising providing a liquid crystalmaterial adjacent each of said exposed first, second, third and fourthportions of the alignment layer, the liquid crystal material adjacentone of the first, second, third and fourth portions of the alignmentlayer having a pretilt angle direction different than the pretilt angledirection of the liquid crystal material adjacent at least one ofanother of the first, second, third and fourth portions of the alignmentlayer.
 17. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device inaccordance with claim 15, further comprising providing a liquid crystalmaterial adjacent each of said exposed first, second, third and fourthportions of the alignment layer, the liquid crystal material adjacentone of the first, second, third and fourth portions of the alignmentlayer having a pretilt angle direction substantially perpendicular tothe pretilt angle direction of the liquid crystal material adjacent atleast one of another of the first, second, third and fourth portions ofthe alignment layer.
 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein thealignment layer is exposed to an unpolarized light.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the alignment layer is exposed to apartially polarized light.
 20. A method of manufacturing a liquidcrystal display device, comprising: providing an alignment layer on asubstrate; exposing said alignment layer only once to light obliquelyincident onto a surface of said alignment layer to form a pretilt angle,the exposing step simultaneously selecting a direction of the pretiltangle and an amount of the pretilt angle; and providing a liquid crystalmaterial adjacent the alignment layer.
 21. The method according to claim20, wherein the alignment layer is exposed to an unpolarized light. 22.The method according to claim 20, wherein the alignment layer is exposedto a partially polarized light.
 23. The method according to claim 20,wherein the liquid crystal display device is a multi-domain liquidcrystal display device.